Metamorphoses of Hamiltonian systems with symmetries (Q1767308)

This is a well-written book which utilizes modern methods of classical mechanics in the study of four physical Hamiltonian systems with symmetries, viz. the small vibrations of tetrahedral molecules, the hydrogen atom in crossed fields, the quadratic spherical pendula, and the fractional monodromy in the 1:2 resonance system. Two appendices are included for completeness. The basic qualitative features of interest looked at are the existence and stability of relative equilibria, the Hamiltonian Hopf bifurcation, and monodromy and its generalizations. As each of the physical system is parameter dependent, this leads to important qualitative changes of the system or what the author terms metamorphoses of the system as the parameters are varied. The symmetries of each system helps in the simplification of the problem. This book is likely to appeal to specialists in the area.